Mediterranean Quinoa and Cauliflower Bowls

Being a vegetarian, I am sometimes pressed to find filling and fuelling meals that aren’t the traditional salmon & veggies I make so dinner oh so regularly. Being a Sunday night, I had lots of meal prep time, and we got creative. This makes large servings, the two of us eating this had massive pasta-sized bowls filled, and had leftovers for days.

The thing I love best about this dish are all the summer flavours. I am in LOVE with olives, hummus, garlic, and cauliflower. What better way than to add quinoa and arugula as a base, and load on the toppings of your choice. I have a pretty hefty ingredient list here, so feel free to add and subtract as you go depending on what you have on hand or what you can find at your local grocery store.

1 C of cooked quinoa (follow specific instructions depending on what brand of quinoa you buy)

1 head of cauliflower

1 sweet potato

A few spoonfuls of your favourite hummus (I bought some from Me-Va-Me, my favorite Mediterranean restaurant in Toronto.)

1 beet, roasted (I also bought my favourite beet salad from Me-Va-Me. Alternatively you can cook a beet on the same baking sheet as the sweet potato and dress with the leftover red wine vinegar from the pickled onions.)

¼ C red onion, sliced into long thin slices

¼ C red wine vinegar

1 large carrot, grated

1/3 C roasted almonds, chopped (I used Trade Joe’s Thai Basil & Lime Roasted almonds. But you can make your own or substitute for any store bought alternative, just watch the sodium content.)

Roast Chickpeas: Preheat oven to 425 F. Lay chickpeas drained and rinsed chickpeas on a paper towel and pat dry. Combine spices in a bowl. Add chickpeas and drizzle with olive oil. Toss until coated. Place in an even layer on a baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes, until crispy, stirring once; drizzle with additional olive oil if chickpeas look dry. Remove from the oven, set aside and allow to cool.

Make Quinoa: Using 1 cup of uncooked quinoa, cook it as per the package instructions, and leave aside until ready to serve.

Pickle the Onion: Add sliced onion and red wine vinegar to a small bowl. Microwave on high for 45 seconds. Remove from onion and let sit in refrigerator until ready to serve. Top the bowls with the red onion, leaving the excess vinegar behind to dress with beets with.

Make the Tahini Dressing: Vigorously whisk tahini, lemon juice and zest, honey, salt, pepper and spices in a bowl. (You may have to microwave the tahini first to soften it up.) Whisk in the olive oil until combined. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Place in the refrigerator to chill.

Heat the Pita: 1 minute before serving, heat your pita in the hot oven for 1-2 minutes until warmed. Slice into triangle wedges and eat with hummus.

Serve: Add ½ C of quinoa to a bowl. Top the quinoa with as much of each topping as desired: roasted quinoa, sweet potatoe, beet, spoonful of hummus, pita, pickled onion, arugula, cilantro, roasted chickpeas, grated carrots, crushed almond.